Xperia S to feature a fast-charge battery and anti-stain coating

The first Xperia to have stripped itself of the Ericsson brand, the upcoming Sony Xperia S, is rumored to feature a sunlight-activated coating which should help repel dirt and other stain-forming materials, as well as a quick-charge battery.

Dirt and chocolate stains on the cover are said to come off easily after the UV coating is exposed to sunlight for several seconds, and the battery charge times are expected to be reduced by half when compared to previous Xperia models. A ten minute charge should provide an hours worth of standby.

We first got a look at the Xperia S a few weeks ago at CES, and were really impressed with its BRAVIA-powered display image quality.

Expect the Sony Xperia S this March for around €462.

Sony Xperia S repels dirt and recharges fast

The Sony Xperia S captured a lot of attention and hearts at the CES 2012 in Las Vegas. And with the 12MP camera on back and the 1.3MP camera upfront, the unit has your photography needs covered. You want 1080p HD video capture? You got it! The 4.3 inch 720p screen has a nice 342ppi for crisp images. Under the hood is a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm MSM8260 processor, and 1GB of RAM is aboard. Android 2.3 is pre-installed.

What wasn't listed with the specs is the fact that Sony told Swiss web site PocketPC.ch that thanks to the phone's "UV-active nano-coating," the Sony Xperia S repels dirt and also protects the device from the everyday wear and tear that a smartphone faces. Another feature on the Sony Xperia S is the improved lithium-polymer technology that allows the device to charge in half the time of a regular battery. Just 10 minutes of charging time will get the Xperia S up and running for 1 hour.

The Sony Xperia S will be launched overseas in the second week of March with its U.S. cousin, the Sony Xperia Ion, rolling out in the second quarter.

Sony Xperia phones, Tablet S, P getting updated to ICS this spring

Sony is planning on updating its Sony Tablet P and Tablet S at around the same time it’s going to update its Xperia lineup to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. That is, this spring, according to sources quoted by TheVerge.

Additionally, Sony will bring "some really cool unique bits" to spice up ICS, and this holds true especially for the company’s slates.

The two tablets, Tablet P and S, are already being tested with ICS deployed on them, but Sony is not getting more details except for the vague spring release date. We’d still wait for an official confirmation from the company rather than take this as 100% certain, but the update seems imminent and spring is a good bet.

Have you purchased a tablet by Sony? Could ICS lure you into purchasing one? Chime in with your opinions below.